“Taking the Stump”
• “I think I’ll give him a trifle in New York currency.”
• “He looks like a smart little man and if I were not wise,
I’d go my pile on him.”
• “Gentlemen, I’m going to see my mother and solicit a
little help for in running after a nomination. I fell over a
big lump of Breckenridge and have been very lame
ever since.”
• “Here Breck, as Dug has taken the stump, you must
stump it too”
• “Well old Buck, if you say so, I suppose I must, but I
know it will be of nu use, for I feel that I haven’t got a
leg to stand on.”
• “Go it ye cripples, wooden legs are cheap, but
stumping won’t save you.
•
Another satire on Douglas's July 1860 campaign tour of upstate New York and New England.
(See also "Stephen Finding His Mother," no. 1860-35.)
•
Here a double-entendre in the use of the word "stump," playing on its use as a colloquialism for
both campaigning and a wooden leg. In the center Douglas, wearing a wooden leg, speaks with
John Bell of Tennessee, Constitutional Union presidential candidate (far left), and influential
Democrat Virginia governor Henry A. Wise. Douglas claims, "Gentlemen {grave}I'm going to see
my mother,' and solicit a little help, for in running after a nomination, I fell over a big lump of
Breckenridge [i.e., rival Democratic candidate John C. Breckinridge], and have been very lame
ever since."
•
Bell remarks to Wise, "I think I'll give him a trifle in New York currency." Wise responds, "He looks
like a smart little man, and if I were not Wise I'd go my pile on him."
•
At right incumbent James Buchanan offers another stump to Breckinridge, his own favorite,
saying, "Here Breck, as Dug has taken the stump you must stump it too." Breckinridge replies,
"Well old Buck, if you say so, I suppose I must, but I know it will be of no use, for I feel that I
have'nt got a leg to stand on." His right foot is bandaged, possibly a souvenir of his defeat by
Douglas at the May Democratic Convention in Baltimore.
•
Abraham Lincoln, leaning against a rail fence at the far right, declares confidently, "Go it ye
cripples! wooden legs are cheap, but stumping wont save you."
Storming the Castle
• “Ah ha Gentlemen: You needn’t think to catch me
napping, for I am a regular Wide Awake.”
• “Hurry up Douglas, and get the door open so that I
can get in for the watchman is coming.”
• “Confound it! None of these keys will unlock this
door so I better be off for old Abe is after me with a
sharp stick.”
• “I’ll do all I can to help you Breck but my strength
is failing and I’m afraid you’ll put me out before I
can pull you in.”
• Ah Mr. Buck, I’m too weak to get up and we shall
be compelled to ‘dissolve the Union.’”
•
During the 1860 election campaign the "," a marching club composed of
young Republican men, appeared in cities throughout the North. (See no.
1860-14.) They often wore uniforms consisting of visored caps and short
capes, and carried lanterns. Here Republican presidential candidate
Abraham Lincoln (left) is dressed as a "Wide-Awake," and carries a lantern
and a spear-like wooden rail. He rounds the corner of the White House
foiling the attempts of three other candidates to enter surreptitiously. At far
right incumbent James Buchanan tries to haul John C. Breckinridge in
through the window. Buchanan complains, "I'll do what I can to help you
Breck, but my strength is failing and I'm afraid you'll pull me out before I can
pull you in." Breckinridge despairs, ". . . I'm too weak to get up--and we shall
be compelled to dissolve the Union.'" His words reflect his and Buchanan's
supposed alliance with secessionist interests of the South. In the center
Democrat tries to unlock the White House door, as Constitutional Union
party candidate John Bell frets, "Hurry up Douglas! and get the door open,
so that I can get in, for the watchman [i.e., Lincoln] is coming." Douglas
complains that none of the three keys he holds (labeled "Regular
Nomination," "Non Intervention," and "Nebraska Bill") will open the door, ". .
. so I'd better be off, for old Abe is after me with a sharp stick."
Progressive Democracy
• Now this little Dug! Put in and pull while I
cry Tammany to the rescue for I hear a
rushing sound that bodes us no good.
• Come Jack and Joe, pull up and don’t let
the other team stir the wagon. I’d rather
the Machine would be smashed than have
them run away with it.
• Clear the track! Look out for the engine,
when the bell rings.
•
Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln and running mate Hannibal Hamlin are shown
about to destroy a Democratic party paralyzed by internal dissension. The Republicans
ride a locomotive named "Equal Rights" toward a crossing where the wagon
"Democratic Platform," hitched to two opposing teams, is stalled on the track. The two
teams try to pull the wagon in opposite directions. Horses with the heads of Stephen A.
Douglas and bearded vice presidential nominee Hershel V. Johnson pull toward the
left. A team with the heads of southern Democrats John C. Breckinridge and Joseph
Lane strain toward the right.
•
One of the wagon's two drivers is an Indian identified as "a Squatter Sovereing." As a
Native American the figure may be a facetious reference to Douglas's endorsement of
the principle of popular sovereignty on the question of slavery in the territories. He also
represents the Indian chief Tammany, patron of the New York City Democratic
machine. He cries, "Now then little Dug! put in and pull, while I cry {grave}Tammany to
the rescue,' for I hear a rushing sound that bodes us no good."
•
The driver on the right is incumbent President James Buchanan, an important
Breckinridge supporter. He cracks a whip and exhorts his team, "Come Jack, and Joe,
pull up! and don't let the other team stir the wagon I'd rather the Machine would be
smashed than have them run away with it."
•
Lincoln and Hamlin warn, "Clear the track!" and "Look out for the Engine, when the bell
rings!"
The National Game
• It appears to me very singular that we three should
strike “foul” and be “put out” while old Abe made such
a “good lick.”
• “That’s because he had that confounded rail, to strike
with, I thought our fusion would be a ‘short stop’ to his
career.
• “I guess I’d better leave for Kentucky, for I smell
something strong around here and begin to think that
we are completely “skunked.”
• Gentleman, if any of you should ever take a hand in
another match at this game, remember that you must
have “a good bat” and strike a “fair ball” to make a
“clean score” & a “home run.”
•
•
Probable artist - Louis Maurer
The German artist, Louis Maurer, drew upon an American sport—baseball—for this
pro-Lincoln political cartoon, which Currier & Ives published in September 1860, only
two months before the presidential election of 1860. Maurer created a parody of the
four main presidential candidates (from left to right): Constitutional Union Party
candidate John Bell, Northern Democratic Party candidate Stephen A. Douglas,
Southern Democratic Party candidate John C. Breckinridge, and Republican Party
candidate Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln, who stands on the home plate, reminds his
opponents that they need a “good bat” to hit a home run. Each baseball player’s bat
represents the platform they are running on. The artist suggests that Lincoln’s bat of
“equal rights and free territory” is more powerful than Breckinridge’s Southern
“slavery extension” bat, Douglas’ pro-states’ rights bat of “non intervention” or Bell’s
bat “fusion,” which the cartoon of Douglas refers to as a strategy to defeat Lincoln. All
of the candidates also wear belts that either reflect a personal or party
characteristic. For example, Douglas’ belt reads “Little Giant,” a nickname that
became popular during the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates for Illinois senator. On the
other hand, Lincoln’s “Wide Awake Club” belt eludes to the group of young,
Republican men of the same name who marched in Northern cities to gain support
for Lincoln. In the end, Breckinridge admits defeat, holding his nose as he moves
away from the skunk in the foreground. At the time, “skunk’d” was used as a baseball
term to describe a shutout or a large margin of victory. (By Rebecca Solnit)
• A POLITICAL RACE
Published by Rickey, Mallory & Company,
Cincinnati, 1860.
Text from left to right:
John Bell: Bless my soul I give up.
John C. Breckinridge: That long legged
Abolitionist is getting ahead of us after all.
Stephen Douglas: I never run so in my life.
• Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
A crude nonpartisan satire, parodying all four
candidates in the 1860 presidential election. A
map of the United States hung on a wall is being
torn apart by three of the candidates. Lincoln (far
left) and Douglas tear at the western part of the
country, as Breckinridge (center) attacks the
South. The fourth, John Bell (right), stands on a
stool trying to repair the northeastern section
with a jar of "Spaldings," a widely marketed glue
of the period. Several boxes of this adhesive
appear, prominently labeled, at right.
•
Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
A general parody on the 1860 presidential contest, highlighting the impact of the Dred Scott
decision on the race. That controversial decision, handed down in 1857 by Chief Justice Roger B.
Taney, ruled that neither the federal government nor territorial governments could prohibit slavery
in the territories. The burning question of the future of slavery in the United States was addressed
by several of the contenders during the 1860 race. Here the four presidential candidates dance
with members of their supposed respective constituencies. The music is fiddled by Dred Scott, the
former slave whose suit precipitated the court's decision. Scott sits on a chair at center. In the
upper left is Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge. He is paired with Democratic incumbent
and ally James Buchanan, depicted as a goat or (as he was nicknamed) "Buck." At the upper right
Republican Abraham Lincoln prances arm-in-arm with a black woman, a pejorative reference to
his party's alignment with the abolitionists.
•
At lower right Constitutional Union party candidate John Bell dances with an Indian brave. This
pairing is puzzling but may allude to Bell's brief flirtation with Native American interests. (For one
instance of the use of the Indian as a nativist symbol see "Know Nothing Soap," no. 1854-3.)
•
At lower left Stephen A. Douglas dances with a ragged Irishman. Associated with Douglas in
several cartoons (see "The Undecided Political Prize Fight," no. 1860-22) the Irishman, here
wearing a cross, may be intended as a reference to Douglas's backing among Irish immigrants
and allegations of the candidate's Catholicism.
• This cover cartoon for Strong’s Campaign Pictorial uses
a common horserace analogy for the presidential
election. Constitutional Unionist John Bell is far back of
the pack. Southern Democrat John Breckinridge is dead
weight on a drag pulled by Northern Democrat Stephen
Douglas, whose jockey may be Dean Richmond, political
boss of the Albany, New York, political machine. Out in
front is the probable winner, Republican Abraham
Lincoln, ridden by jockey Horace Greeley, editor of the
New York Tribune. The rail which Greeley carries is a
pun on Lincoln’s image as a rail-splitter and alludes to
the Lincoln horse being closest to the inside rail. The
“post” is actually the starting gate in horseracing, but is
used here to signify the finish line because it is a
synonym for “rail.”
• In order to appeal to average voters,
Republicans emphasized the poor,
hardworking origin of their candidate
through the myth of Abraham Lincoln as a
rail-splitter. This cartoon in the WideAwake Pictorial plays on that image by
joking that the last rail he split is the
Democratic Party in 1860, which divided
into Northern and Southern factions.
• This Vanity Fair cartoon ridicules Stephen Douglas's
diminutive stature (5' 4") by presenting him as a young
boy trying to reach his (presidential) high chair. To attain
that goal, he teeters on a footstool marked “Kanzaz,”
which stands atop the back of a black boy. That image
refers to Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which
repealed the 1820 Missouri Compromise ban on slavery
in the Western territories north of the 36º 30' line of
latitude. The cartoon's message is that while the
Northern Democratic nominee hopes his stance on the
slavery issue will help elevate him into the White House,
it will prove to be more of an obstacle. The depiction of
Douglas as a child may also refer to his campaign tour
through New England, which he excused by claiming
that he was on the way to visit his mother.
• This cartoon and poem in The Chicago Rail Splitter
(Chicago) poke fun at Northern Democratic presidential
nominee Stephen Douglas for using a visit to his mother
as a pretext for a campaign tour of the Northeast. There
was a longstanding tradition against presidential
candidates stumping for office. Douglas’s 1860
electioneering in the Northeast and later in the South
were the first issues-oriented speaking tours by a
presidential nominee.
• Douglas was known as a hard drinker, and the “great
principle” in his pocket is a bottle of alcohol
•
Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
A general parody on the field of presidential candidates and their supporters in the 1860 campaign. At the far left
stands Constitutional Union party vice presidential candidate Edward Everett, as a muscle man holding aloft a
barbell on which rests running mate John Bell. Everett boasts, "There is nothing like having the Constitution, to
give us strength to put up this Bell successfully." Bell states, "I have perfect confidence in Mr. Everett's ability to
uphold me." Though holding second place on the ticket, the former senator from Massachusetts Everett was much
more popular in the Northeast than Tennessean Bell.
•
To the right of Bell and Everett is "Tribune" editor Horace Greeley. His political ambitions are mocked by the artist
who shows him vainly attempting to climb up on a horizontal bar labeled "Nomination for Governor." Greeley
complains, "I've been practising at it a long time, but can never get up muscle enough to get astride of this bar."
Abraham Lincoln (center), who has successfully mounted a balance beam constructed of wooden rails, advises
Greeley, "You must do as I did Greely, get somebody to give you a boost, I'm sure I never could have got up here
by my own efforts." His cross bar, labeled "For President," represents the Republican nomination, which Lincoln
won largely through Greeley's powerful support. Occupying the foreground is James Watson Webb of the New
York "Courier," who tries a backward somersault. His wager here, "I'll bet a quarter I can beat any man in the party
at turning political Summersets," is a swipe at Webb's mid-1850s conversion from Whig to Republican.
At far right stands Lincoln's former competitor for the Republican nomination, William H. Seward, on crutches and
with bandaged feet. He warns Lincoln, "You'd better be careful friend, that you don't tumble off; as I did before I
was fairly on, for if you do you'll be as badly crippled as I am." (For a similar reference to political cripples in this
campaign, see ""Taking the Stump" or Stephen in Search of His Mother," no. 1860-36.)
Near Seward the two sectional Democratic candidates compete in a boxing match. Stephen A. Douglas, the
regular Democratic nominee, faces southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge. Douglas taunts his opponent, "Come
at me Breck, and after you cry enough, I'll take a round with the rest of them." In response Breckinridge asserts, "If
I can do nothing else I can at least prevent you from pulling Lincoln down."
•
•
•
•
The Campaign Plain Dealer was published by the Cleveland Plain Dealer to support
the presidential candidacy of Stephen Douglas. This cartoon applies the common
visual analogy of boxing to the 1860 presidential campaign, showing Democrat
Douglas bringing Republican Abraham Lincoln to his knees with a chokehold (boxing
rules against wrestling were not introduced to America until after the Civil War). In
Douglas’s corner flies the flag of “Popular Sovereignty,” denoting the proposal that
voters in the West should decide the fate of slavery in their territory without federal
interference. In Lincoln’s corner flies the flag of “Irrepressible Conflict,” referring to a
term coined by Senator William Henry Seward of New York to characterize the clash
between slavery and free labor.
Oddly, the cartoonist placed three prominent Republican journalists on the popular
sovereignty side (left-right): Thurlow Weed, former editor of the New York Evening
Journal, who backed the unsuccessful Seward for the Republican presidential
nomination; Henry Raymond, editor of The New York Times; and editor Horace
Greeley of the New York Tribune, a key figure in Lincoln’s nomination. Seward
himself stands in front of the “Irrepressible Conflict” flag, and states concerning
Lincoln’s role in the fight, “I could have done better myself.” Cheering Douglas from
the center is the senior editor of the Campaign Plain Dealer, Joseph William Gray,
who founded the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1842 with his brother, Nelson. (Douglas’s
last name was originally spelled as printed in the middle dialogue bubble.) The
newspaper’s explanation of the cartoon ends with a line spoken by the title character
of Shakespeare’s Macbeth before he attacks (and is killed by) Macduff.
•
Published by Rickey, Mallory & Company, Cincinnati, July 1860.
Figures from left to right:
In upper left hand corner a figure looks out a window titled: Before
Stephen Douglas with one foot through the Cincinnati Platform and the other on the
Mason Dixon Line waves two flags: SOUTH. Dred Scott Decision" and NORTH. Unfriendly
Legislation.
Lincoln stands on a No Extension of Slavery platform holds tight with his right hand the
rope around Douglas' neck which reads: Squatter sovereignty, and brandishes a rail with
his left.
John Bell stands on the ground without a platform and has a bell over his head; John C.
Breckinridge seated behind him writing New York Ledger; his head is also under the bell.
In the upper right hand corner a figure looks out a window titled: After the Chicago
Convention.
• John Bell at left looks through a telescope at a
black image of Abraham Lincoln.
He says to Stephen A. Douglas, standing in the
South portion of a map of the United States as a
dark shadow spreads across the north: “Stephen
the entir[e] northern limb seems to be eclipsed.”
Douglas responds: “If that is the case John we
better fuse”
Commentator Albert Shaw noted: “The effort to
defeat Lincoln did result in a fusion of electoral
tickets in New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
and New Jersey, in spite of which Lincoln carried
all the Northern States.”
• Louis Maurer mocked presidential candidate Stephen
Douglas in the cartoon “Stephen Finding His Mother.”
Through the months leading up to the election in late
1860, Douglas engaged in an unprecedented national
campaign tour. In response to critics of his new votegathering methods, he falsely claimed to visit his
mother when he lead his tour through New York and
New England. Using this story as the basis for the
cartoon, Maurer shows Columbia as Douglas’ “mother”
who, at the urging of Uncle Sam, punishes him for
dividing Democrats and bringing scorn from
Republicans. She uses a branch labeled the “Maine
Law,” a possible reference to Maine’s 1851
temperance law, to “give him the Stripes till he sees
Stars.”
A Political Race
• Abraham Lincoln is shown pulling away
from the other runners in a race just like
he was gaining the lead in the political
race for president.
Little Stephen Douglaso
• Step stool reads Kanzaz
• Highchair reads Presidential Chair 1860
The Political Gymnasium
• There is nothing like having the Constitution, to give us strength to
put up this Bell successfully.
• I have perfect confidence in Mr. Everett’s ability to uphold me.
• I have been practicing at it a long time, but can never get up muscle
enough to get astride of this bar.
• You must do this as I did Greely, get somebody to give you a boost,
I’m sure I never could have got up here by my own efforts.
• I’ll bet a quarter I can beat any man in the party at turning political
summersets.
• You’d better be careful friend, that you don’t tumble off, as I did
before I was fairly on, for if you do you’ll be as badly crippled as I
am.
• Come at me Breck, and after you cry enough, I’ll take a round with
the rest of them.
• If I can do nothing else I can at least prevent you from pulling
Lincoln down.
The Political Eclipse of 1860
• Stephen, the entire middle limb seems to
be eclipsed.
• If that is the case John we better fuse.